Body-protectok



;1. c. SHANNON. BODY PROTECTOR.

APPLICATON HLED .IULY 6. 1918.

1 ,302 ,980. PatenfedMay 6, 1919..

,2 SHEETS-SHEET l.

&Hmm m I. C. SHANNON.

BODY PROTECTOR.

APPLICATIONJILED uLY 6. 1918.

Patented May 6, 1919.

2 wears-sum 2 JEFFERSON .c. SHANNOM OF REENVILLE, MssIssuPL.

BODY-PROTECTOR.

Application filed" July 6, 1913. Serial No. %3,593

To all whom 'it may cancer 22 Be it known thatI, JEFFERSON C. SHAN 4 NON, a citizen of the United tates, residing at Greenville, in thecounty of Washington and State of Mississipp have invented new and useful lmproveinents in Body-Protectors, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to protectors, par ticularly to body protectors for use by undertal zers, and has for its object the provi- 'sion oi? a protector adapted to be engaged partially beneath and around a body being embalmed whereby the body; clothing, sheets, carpetsand the like will be protected 'from injui g or damage resulting. from any accidental spilling of blood or embalming fluid. y

' &in important object is the provision of a protectcr of this character which is' so to'rmed as to provide a pocket for catching zmdholding any blood or chcmicals which might be spilled during the process of embalming the pocket being so formed and so located in respect to the main portion of the pro'tector as to have the maximum efiicienoy in preventing the spilling of any fluids.

Another object is the provision of a protector of this character embodying two flaps one of which is designed to be disposed beneath the body and the other of which is so formed as to be placed over a portion of the body in close engagement with thelarm pit whereby the body, Clothing 'and adjacent objects will be efiectively protected during the customary operation.

Another object is the provison of a device of this character having a pocket portion which is maintained in proper shape by a metallic frame formed of a plurality of rods, the rods being so arranged and connected that they may be folded in respect to one another so that the entire device may be folded about the rods into a very small compact package or parcel for convenience in transportation and storage.

Still another object is the provsion of a devce of this character which will not only be eiiicient in its action, but which will also be extremely simple and inexpensive in nanufacture and use, easily applied, and a general improvement of the art.

'With the above and other objects and advantages in View, the invention consists in the details of Construction to be hereinafter more fully described and claimed and il1us- Speification of Letters Patent' Patented May, 1919.

-trated in the accompanying drawings in `Wh1Ch z Figure 1 is a plan view of the device in its extended position applied to a body.

Fig. 2 is a bottom planview showing in tull 'lines the rods'extended and in dotted lines the rods folded;

3 s a detail sectional view illustrating the pocket Construction, and' `pletely folded. i v

E-teferrning more particularly to the drawing the numerallO designates a sheet of material'` which is cut to provide'the side flaps 11 and having its edges at one end turned over and stitched jalong the lines 12 toprovide a bead 13 within which isdisposed a U-shaped frane 14.- The rame 14 has its arms formed in jointed sections 15 for a purpose to be hereinafter described. The portion of the sheet 10 'within the confines of theframe 14 is designed to form a shallow receptacle or pocket the utility of which will hereinafter become apparent. V

Disposed upon the sheet 10 and secu'red theretoby rows of stitcliing 16 and 17, is a second sheet 18 which is of considerably greater length than the sheet 10 so as to eX- tend therebeyond in one directiomand which has its other end terminating adjacent the pocket defined by the frame 14:.

The width of the sheet 18 is such that it extends overone of the flaps 11 of the sheet 10 while the other flap is not covered thereby. At oneedge, the sheet 18 ispro- Vided with a curved cutjout portion 19 of a 'size to be Conveniently engaged about the shoulder of a body.

In the' use of the device, the sheet 10 is :placed upon some convenient support, preferably a cooling board A, with the rods of the frame 14: disposed lowermost. The sheet is so positioned in respect to the cooling board or other support, that the pocket defined by the frame 14 will eXtend beyond the edge of the board or other support. The operator then grasps the free end of the sheet 18 and swings it back upon its line of stitching 16 until the sheet 18 is in anonobstructing position in respect to the portion of the sheet 10 lying between the lines of stitching 16 and its free end. The body is then laid upon the sheet 10, after which the sheet 18 is drawn over the body with the cut out portion 19engagin the arm pits. It is nnderstood of course t at when the body is initially laid upon the sheet 10, its position should beso judgedthat the arm pit will be in proper position'to'be engaged by the cut out portion 19. The weight of the body resting upon the jointed sections 15 of the f rame 14 will hold the frame 14 in proper position so that there willbe no displacement of the pocket defined thereby. The proper positioning of the protector in respect to thebody is clearly shown in Fig. 1 of the drawing and an inspection of this figure will reveal the fact that the protector allows one arm to be eXposed so that the embalmers may perform their work conveniently. It willbe noted that the eXposed arm will be adjacent the pocket defined by the frame 14 so that any blood exuding from the incisionin the arm or any emspilled will be caught by the pocket. It will be observed that the device `will thus eifectively prevent damage to the body, Clothing, sheets, carpets or other adj acent objects owing to any spilling of fluid.

Fig. 2 shows a bottom plan view of the tparts in their normal or active positions.

When the use of the device is no longer desired, the jointed sections 15 of the frame 14 are moved from the position shown in Fig. %by full lines into the position shown by dotted lines which illustrates them swung one upon the other and extending transversely of the sheet 10. The flaps 11 are then folded into the sheet 10 and the projecting-edge of the sheet 18 folded onto the adjacen't folding fiap 11. When the parts are so arranged, the operator need only grasp the iframe 14 by one corner and turn it over and over upon the super-posed sheets 18 and 10. The deVice may thus be rolled up into a small bundle as shown in Fig. 4 with the frame 14 disposed within the folded sheets.

From the foregoing description and a study of the drawings it will be apparent that I have thus provided a protector for the purpose 'described which will be eX- Copies of `this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressng the "commissions-r of Patents, n

tremely simple in use, eflicient in action, du-` rable in service and which Will moreover be ineXpensive in manufacture.

While I have shown and described the preferred embodiment of my invention it will of course be understood that I reserve the right to make such changes in the form, Construction and arrangement of parts as will not depart from the spirit of the invention nor the scop'e of the subjoined elaims.

Having described my invention I claim 1. An undertakefis body protector, comprising a substantially rectangular sheet of material adapted for disposition upon the cooling board beneath a body disposed thereon, an open sided rectangular iframe secured at one end of said sheet of material and defining avpocket adapted to project beyond the edge of a cooling board, and a second sheet of material of substantially rectangular formation secured upon said first named sheet ata point spaced from the open side of said frame and disposable over the 'torso of a body laid upon the first named sheet, said second named sheet being provided adjacent one secured corner with an arin pit engaging portion.

2. An undertaker s body protector comprising a sheet of material disposable upon a cooling board and adapted to receive thereon a body, an open sided rectangular frame secured at one end of said sheet of material and forming a catch basin adapted to overhang the edge of the cooling board, extension rods pivotally connected with the side arms of said frame and disposed beneath said sheet of material and the body disposed thereon, whcreby said basin will project in a horizontal position, and a second'sheet of material secured upon said first named sheet adjacent the open side of said frame and engageable over the torso of a body disposed upon said first named sheet.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature.

JEFFERSON o. SHANNON.

washington, D. C." 

